ERC Consolidator Grant, recent awardees

Computational Neuroscience-based Interventions for OCD

EBERHARD KARLS UNIVERSITAET TUEBINGEN · DE · €1,999,903

Mental ill-health is one of the biggest challenges for today’s society. Mental disorders are widespread and pervasive, yet our traditional approach to treating patients is archaic, ignoring clinical heterogeneity and their neurobiological causes. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a paradigmatic case, where – despite its pervasiveness – many treatments have been discovered serendipitously, where the gold-standard treatments have not changed substantially for decades despite their modest effe

How do cells absorb nutrients: Spatially resolving nutrient uptake using intestinal cells as a paradigm

HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO · FI · €1,989,207

Cells need a constant supply of nutrients to maintain homeostasis, integrity and identity. In multicellular organisms, cells of different types tightly control this chemical exchange with their environment depending on metabolic requirements. While intracellular metabolic and nutrient-sensing pathways are widely studied, our understanding of how cells regulate their nutrient uptake in the first place remains largely unexplored. Nutrient uptake occurs at the cellular membranes via transporter pro

The epigenetic cost and benefit balance of giant virus endogenizations

QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON · UK · €1,999,997

Giant viruses, renowned for their exceptionally large genomes with thousands of genes, are increasingly being identified as integrated elements within eukaryotic genomes. This seemingly paradoxical process of endogenization is significant, as it represents a pathway for large-scale lateral gene transfer in eukaryotes. However, the initial integration of viral DNA can impose severe evolutionary costs, potentially being lethal for the host. The overarching hypothesis of this proposal is that the g

Nonequilibrium Quantum Matter beyond Unitary Dynamics

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AUSTRIA · AT · €1,999,492

The field of quantum simulation holds immense promise for exploring new physical phenomena, however unlocking its full potential requires a paradigm shift. Modern quantum simulators naturally allow to measure a broad class of multi-body correlation functions for which we are lacking adequate theory, and operate in an uncharted regime where the system is subject to intrinsic unitary dynamics and driving, as well as nonunitary dynamics such as dissipation, projective or weak measurements, and feed

Foundations of Weakly Consistent Objects for Shared-Memory Programming

TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY · IL · €2,000,000

Despite being intuitive, strong consistency necessitates frequent global coordination, significantly limiting the scalability of concurrent systems. In shared-memory programming, the need to relax the consistency guarantees has long been recognized, spurring extensive research and driving the adoption of weak memory models in programming languages. However, the situation is markedly different at the level of concurrent objects. For objects---designed to provide common functionalities to clients

Supermassive Black Hole Transients: From Single Brush Strokes to the Entire Painting

TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY · IL · €2,053,750

In the past decade, a plethora of transients in galaxy centers has been discovered and their study has become a flourishing field of research. Many of these so-called “nuclear transients” (given their position in the nuclei of galaxies) are interpreted as tidal disruption events (TDEs) around supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and are used to study accretion physics, galaxy dynamics, SMBH growth and environments, stellar populations in galactic nuclei and more. However, important puzzles surroundi

Targeting airway lymphocytes in asthma and biologics treatment

KAROLINSKA INSTITUTET · SE · €1,999,008

The development of biologics targeting cytokines involved in type 2 lymphocyte function and activation offers new hope for more than 16 million patients living with severe asthma, but not all patients respond, and none are cured. This calls for increased understanding of airway tissue type 2 lymphocytes and how they are regulated by novel biologics in severe asthma. I discovered human innate lymphoid cells type 2 (ILC2), and have shown how they, in addition to T helper 2 (Th2) cells, orchestrate

Language in Balance: an Imprint of Brain Electrophysiology?

MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN EV · DE · €1,994,918

It has long been recognised that the brain functions in a neural balance of periodic and aperiodic activity. The significance of this is a matter of intense debate. It seems clear that such a fundamental neural balance would manifest as other forms of balance—in cognition and behaviour.BALANG pursues this idea for human language. Here, balance is described for both information and acoustics. We don’t like to hear the same old story, but being completely caught off guard isn’t pleasant either. Si

Integrative Analysis of Cellular Drivers of Color Diversification in Development and Evolution

HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO · FI · €2,000,000

During development, tissues are formed by the assembly of different cell types. Evolutionary changes in tissue phenotypes can be the result of mutations that alter the cell type composition or the cell types and their inherent properties. Although these are clear mechanistic links between development and evolution, most research has focused on the endpoints of the genotype-phenotype map, treating the cellular mechanisms that bridge genotype and phenotype as a black box. How changes in cell types

The role of memory in perception: neural mechanisms and computations

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON · UK · €1,999,444

Perception and memory are intimately linked, yet they are traditionally studied separately, with knowledge gained in one field not significantly impacting the other. Here, I propose to investigate if and how a canonical memory region, the hippocampus, influences perception. Specifically, I hypothesise that the hippocampus generates predictions based on multisensory associations in our environment (e.g. a barking sound predicts that you will see your dog), and sends these predictions to visual co

Fluctuations-driven Light and Acoustic Scattering mitigation for High-resolution imaging in dynamic environments

THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM · IL · €1,999,850

Optical imaging systems are central to modern life, from smartphones and autonomous vehicles to laser-based microscopes in biomedical investigations and clinical diagnostics. Yet, even the most advanced imaging systems are severely limited by random scattering of light in dynamic environments, from live tissues to rapidly varying fog. Recent breakthroughs in computational scattering compensation, including my own works, have allowed an unprecedented leap in capabilities: it is now possible to re

Error Correcting Codes for Interactive Channels

BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY OF THE NEGEV · IL · €2,000,000

Error Correcting Codes (ECCs) address a fundamental question: how can we ensure reliable data transmission over unreliable channels? Since Shannon’s pioneering 1948 work, seven decades of research have created a rich theoretical framework with practical impacts across diverse fields.Today, communication systems are no longer just about transmitting information. Instead, they often involve interactive processes requiring multiple exchanges between participants, as seen in cloud computing, cryptog

Functional Coding of Neuropeptide Signaling Networks in Learning

KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN · BE · €2,167,296

Humanity has always been intrigued by the brain’s ceaseless capacity to learn and store experiences. However, the ability to acquire and retrieve learned information is dynamic and regulated by a bewildering variety of chemical messengers. Neuropeptides form the largest and most diverse group of neuromodulators and play important roles in learning. Growing evidence exists showing that they form dense signaling networks, with most neurons expressing many neuropeptides and receptors, but how this

The evolution of biological hydrogen oxidation as a key mechanism to prevent planetary water loss

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI NAPOLI FEDERICO II · IT · €2,996,250

Water is essential to planetary habitability, and Earth’s long-term water stability depends on mechanisms preventing hydrogen escape to space. Hydrogen on Earth is continually produced through geological and biological processes. While hydrogen production from water photolysis in the upper atmosphere is largely prevented by Earth’s magnetic field and atmospheric cold traps, hydrogen generated in the crust or near the planetary surface would escape to space unless oxidation processes act on it qu

Robustness of morphogenesis via noise and mechano-chemical feedbacks

INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AUSTRIA · AT · €1,999,175

Development involves increasingly intricate processes of physical tissue sculpting (morphogenesis), resulting in highly reproducible shapes. The apparent paradox between reproducibility at macroscopic scales, and emerging evidence of extensive heterogeneity and stochasticity at the molecular and cellular scales, suggests that active mechanisms are necessary to ensure morphogenetic robustness. However, as biomechanical theories of morphogenesis have largely ignored the presence and many facets of

Synergistic treatment of solid tumours by engineering novel synthetic communication systems in T cells and Macrophages

FONDAZIONE ISTITUTO ITALIANO DI TECNOLOGIA · IT · €2,437,500

In TeaM I propose a synthetic biology-based multi-cellular strategy to fight solid tumors, addressing the immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment (TME). WHY: Synthetic biology is transforming cell-based immunotherapies with control circuits in immune cells like T cells and macrophages. However, in solid tumours the TME renders these cells dysfunctional, limiting their efficacy. Innovative solutions are needed to address this unmet need and unlock the full potential of immunotherapies.WHAT: Tea

From short to long time scales: Resonances and Structure in Computation

SORBONNE UNIVERSITE · FR · €1,689,375

Symmetries, energy and mass conservation, integrability, measure invariance, scattering, etc. are major features in nonlinear systems and intrinsically shape their global dynamics. To guarantee a reliable numerical description of nonlinear phenomena on short and long time scales, faithful to the physical interpretation of differential equations, it is therefore crucial to preserve these structures at the discrete level. Otherwise important information becomes lost, hindering genuine long time si

Frontier Cats: Reimagining Multispecies Governance and Care Ethics beyond Post-politics

AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS · ES · €1,999,668

As we face the sixth mass extinction and unprecedented socio-ecological challenges, cats—both cherished companions and devastating predators—stand at the center of escalating tensions between biodiversity conservation and animal welfare. Existing governance models, reliant on technocratic, post-political, and expert-driven solutions, fail to capture the cultural, ethical, and emotional dimensions of socio-ecological cat-related conflicts, leaving unreconciled divergent knowledges, values, and pr

Literary reading, public libraries, young people, and inclusive democracies

UNIVERSIDAD POMPEU FABRA · ES · €1,999,821

OPENLIB inquires into the claim that literary reading fosters more inclusive democracies by focusing on the shifting relationships between young people, cultural materials, and public libraries. The proposed project brings together the long-held question about the uses of literature and arts with the demand for libraries to ensure a pluralistic public sphere in times of increased digitalization. This project assumes that the question of how literary reading contributes to more inclusive democrac

Operando Probing of Electrochemical Reactions At Triple-phase-boundaries

THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD · UK · €2,323,800

Electrochemical conversion is central to the net-zero transition, enabling hydrogen production from renewable energy and water, and the transformation of waste CO2 into valuable fuels and chemicals. However, these multi-step reactions take place at triple-phase boundaries which are challenging to experimentally access, limiting our understanding and thus ability to rationally design improved electrocatalysts. OPERATE will deliver new capabilities to observe the chemical state, intermediate speci

Sleep and Circadian Rhythms in Chronic Disease and Lifecourse Epidemiology

UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL · UK · €2,358,499

Circadian rhythms are endogenous near-24 hour cycles that regulate most biological processes. When cycles are misaligned to the external world, this can cause sleep disorders and associated ill health. Deterioration in sleep quality is a prominent feature of ageing and poor sleep is characteristic of many chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, neurodegeneration and some cancers. Growing evidence suggests that sleep and circadian rhythm disruption (SCRD) is not only a conse

Can Immersive Narrative Interventions Strengthen Support for Liberal Democracy?

UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM · NL · €2,157,758

Liberal democracy faces unprecedented threats, with public commitment to its principles and practices weaker than often assumed. This is highly problematic, as liberal democracy can only thrive when it relies on widespread support. One key issue is that conventional forms of communicating liberal democracy, such as descriptive and argumentative messaging, often fail to engage citizens deeply. IMMERSE tackles this urgent challenge by investigating whether embedding information about liberal democ

Proof complexity of circuit lower bounds

THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD · UK · €1,999,843

One of the most fundamental and notorious open problems in theoretical computer science is the possible existence of highly efficient algorithms solving NP problems: there might be fast algorithms breaking established cryptosystems, automating theorem proving, making contemporary approaches to AI obsolete, and solving practically every computational task. This issue lies at the heart of the P versus NP problem, a central question of computational complexity, and particularly in the investigation

A predictive model of diversification and convergence of colour patterns in East African cichlid fishes

THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE · UK · €2,533,498

How does morphological innovation arise and evolve to create the vast diversity of forms in the natural world? This is a fundamental topic in evolutionary biology, and yet long-standing questions remain, particularly regarding (1) the genomic and developmental mechanisms underlying trait evolution, and (2) how these mechanisms shape trait evolutionary trajectories. To solve these problems, our research uses the dramatic morphological diversity of cichlid fishes to study egg-spots – a sexually se

Mitochondrial Synthesis of Neurotransmitters in Synaptic Function and Memory

AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS · ES · €2,000,000

Released neurotransmitters must be replenished at extraordinarily fast time scales to support synaptic function, circuit physiology and behavior. However, how axonal metabolism responds to the demands of neuronal activity to preserve neurotransmitter levels remains poorly understood. While our understanding of the biochemical pathways for neurotransmitter synthesis is vastly detailed, very little is known about how these pathways are implemented in mammalian axons to preserve synaptic function a

Concepts as Knowledge Facilitators

HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO · FI · €1,999,985

Concepts are crucial from an epistemic perspective. Having the right concepts allows asking the right questions, formulating new hypotheses, and providing good explanations. Good concepts are projectable in inductive reasoning. While the ability of concepts to aid and obstruct our thinking has been a recurring theme throughout the history of philosophy, discussions of concepts have little place in current epistemological debates. For instance, existing formal models and informal pictures of upda

Muslim-Jewish Bridges: the Endurance of Iberian Heritage in the Modern Maghrib (late 17th–late 20th Centuries)

UNIVERSITAET ST. GALLEN · CH · €1,996,298

What if cultural identity played a greater role than religion in shaping Muslim-Jewish relations? Maghrib-Bridges: The Endurance of Iberian Heritage in the Modern Maghrib (late 17th–late 20th Centuries), investigates this question by exploring how shared historical roots and cultural heritage connected Muslims and Jews in ways that transcended religious divisions. It focuses on the intertwined cultural history of Sephardic Jews and Andalusian Muslims in the Maghrib. By adopting a historical-anth

Decoding the immuno-regulatory functions of the human bone marrow niche upon cancer cellular therapy

LUNDS UNIVERSITET · SE · €2,000,000

ImmunhOss proposes the personalized modelling of cellular immunotherapies towards improving their efficacy in leukemia context. Cellular immunotherapies hold great clinical promises after demonstrating spectacular success in lymphomas and multiple myeloma, through the pioneering Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cells (CAR-Tc) strategy. However, the outcome remains poor for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) which accounts for the majority and most lethal adult leukemia. Pre-clinical successes were not fol

Organocatalytic Coordination Microenvironment Design

BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY OF THE NEGEV · IL · €2,999,998

An overlooked aspect in organocatalyst design relates to nature’s ability to produce a multitude of biochemical products using only a limited number of mechanisms and building blocks. Rather than relying on structural modifications of the catalytically active unit, enzymatic structures primarily vary throughout the coordination microenvironment in which the active unit is embedded. This evolutionary structural principle boosts the number of compounds and reactions that can be efficiently realize

Unified framework for modelling progressive to catastrophic failure in fractured media

UPPSALA UNIVERSITET · SE · €2,000,000

Climate change, characterised by rising temperatures, extreme rainfall, permafrost thaw, and sea level rise, poses great new challenges for mitigating extreme geohazards like mountain collapses, glacier breakoffs, and volcanic eruptions. Many of these extreme events are due to catastrophic failure in fractured media. There is a fundamental and urgent need to reliably predict these catastrophes and minimise their consequences. Extensive evidence indicates that geomaterials commonly incubate progr

Computational Assistants for Scientific Discovery

EBERHARD KARLS UNIVERSITAET TUEBINGEN · DE · €1,998,803

Societal challenges like climate change, healthcare, and food security demand rapid scientific and technological innovation. Recently, AI demonstrated its transformative potential for biology, chemistry, and materials science. However, while AI already excels in domain-specific tasks, its role as a general-purpose research assistant remains underexplored, even though this use case could fundamentally enhance scientific discovery as a whole. This proposal aims at developing human-centric AI assis

Food additive mixtures and hypertension and cardiovascular diseases incidence in the NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort

M Payen de la Garanderie · Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers · FR

Abstract Background Emerging experimental and epidemiological studies suggest that certain combinations of food additives may exert harmful effects that go beyond those observed for individual substances. This study aimed to investigate the associations between chronic exposure to food additive mixtures and the incidence of hypertension and cardiovascular disease (CVD), including cerebrovascular accident (CVA) and coronary heart disease (CHD), in the NutriNet-Santé cohort (2009–2024). Methods A

From proof to practice: theorizing grassroots documentation initiatives as justice practices in transitional contexts

Tine Destrooper · Ghent University · BE

POMC AMPKα1 deletion drives male-specific BAT thermogenesis and obesity resistance

Ismael González‐García · Universidade de Santiago de Compostela · ES

Proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARC) play a critical role in energy homeostasis. 5'-adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a serine/threonine kinase, which acts as the main energy sensor in the cell. The heterotrimeric AMPK results from the combination of a catalytic α subunit (α1, α2) with two regulatory subunits, β (β1, β2) and γ (γ1, γ2 and γ3). Hypothalamic AMPK plays a key role in the control of energy balance, but current e

A systematic review of human avoidance learning: Cognition, computation, and methods

Federico Mancinelli · University of Bonn · DE

Avoidance behaviour is fundamental for survival but can become maladaptive in clinical conditions. A large body of literature has accumulated on the dynamics of human avoidance learning. However, current theories and overviews do not provide an exhaustive account of this evidence. In this systematic review, we identify N = 116 studies on human avoidance learning. We analyse these studies with the goal of distilling robust empirical phenomena as a basis for theory-building, and examine their diag

Genome-wide association study of creatinine clearance identifies new loci for kidney function

Martin H. de Borst · University Medical Center Groningen · NL

Introduction Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for kidney function have mainly focused on creatinine-based glomerular filtration rate (eGFRcrea), which is affected by variation in muscle mass. Moreover, the genetic basis of the sexual dimorphism of chronic kidney disease is underexplored. Methods We performed a GWAS meta-analysis for creatinine clearance (CrCl), a muscle mass–independent measure of kidney function, in 58,976 individuals of European ancestry from the Lifelines Cohort Study,

COMPOSITUM 2 / WHEAT FRIZZY PANICLE dosage dependently regulates inflorescence and root architecture in Triticeae cereals

Jochen Kumlehn · Leibniz-Institut für Pflanzengenetik und Kulturpflanzenforschung (IPK) · DE

The distinctive spike-shaped inflorescence architecture in temperate cereals is governed by a complex interplay of genetic factors, including the orthologous WHEAT FRIZZY PANICLE (WFZP) and barley COMPOSITUM 2 (COM2), whose products belong to the APETALA 2/ ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR (AP2/ERF) family of transcription factors. However, the precise regulatory mechanism driving their function as well as the influence of allele dosage on spike formation and fertility remain to be elucidated specifical

High-Risk Rhabdomyosarcomas Feature a Convergent Cell State

Sam Behjati · University of Cambridge · GB

Abstract Somatic mutations often predict survival in childhood cancers, as exemplified in rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), in which FOXO1 gene fusion status is a key prognostic feature. In this study, we examined single-cell transcriptomes and discovered that cancer cells of lethal disease converge on a common cell state with a shared transcriptional landscape, irrespective of fusion status. Nuclear transcriptomics, chromatin accessibility, spatial transcriptomics, perturbation studies, and previously pu

Neurodegeneration as a dysregulation of neuroimmune crosstalk

F. Chris Bennett · Children's Hospital of Philadelphia · US

Neurodegeneration is increasingly recognized not only as a disorder of neurons but also as a breakdown of dialogue between the nervous and immune systems. Recent discoveries reveal that immune cells and inflammatory signals are deeply interwoven with brain function across the lifespan. Far from passive responders, immune cells act as sentinels and shapers of neuronal resilience, vulnerability, and repair. Together, robust data support a model in which neurodegeneration emerges from complex inter

The blind spot in research on nature's benefits: Restorative versus instorative effects and potential biases

Simone Kühn

Environmental psychology has extensively documented the restorative effects of nature: the recovery of cognitive resources and emotional well-being following stress or fatigue. Yet, the field may have overlooked instorative effects, where nature enhances functioning from a neutral baseline without prior depletion. We reviewed 54 studies (61 experiments) investigating nature versus urban exposure effects on cognition, affect, and perceived restoration. Studies were categorized as explicit stresso

Prosocial by default: Defaults boost giving even under distraction and widespread non-responsiveness

Linh Vu · Stanford Medicine · US

Bridging the gap between organelles: Membrane contact sites as regulator of endocytic dynamics

Sara Sigismund · European Institute of Oncology · IT

Endocytosis controls the internalization of molecules, receptors and membrane components, thereby regulating nutrient uptake, signaling and membrane composition. Increasing evidence shows that trafficking of endocytic cargo is coordinated by membrane contact sites (MCSs). Rather than passive bridges, MCSs act as dynamic platforms that organize communication between organelles, integrating metabolic and biochemical signals with spatial precision. Their ability to locally remodel membranes and gen

Coastal strip of the Levantine Corridor for the Calabrian (late Early Pleistocene) hominin migration

N. Ogretmen · Aarhus University · DK

As a geographical bridge across continents, the Levantine Corridor has played an important role in the migration and dispersal of hominins throughout the Pleistocene. Archaeological sites along and around this corridor provide evidence of these movements dating back to the Early Pleistocene, in the form of artefacts and, to a lesser extent, fossils, which attest to the presence of hominins in the region. Interestingly, younger sites (i.e., Calabrian) are located along the coastal strip of the Le

Suppressing gliding in Ni-rich single-crystal cathodes by defect engineering

Clare P. Grey · University of Cambridge · GB

Defect engineering has been used for centuries to enhance the mechanical strength of metals and alloys, but its application to cathodes remains largely unexplored. Conventional cathode synthesis aims for defect-free crystals to maximize capacity, but such structures degrade easily through interlayer gliding and microcracking, both of which are reported for single-crystal LiNi 0.8 Mn 0.1 Co 0.1 O 2 (SC-NMC811). Dopant substitution or surface coating has been explored to address these issues but i

Circulating palmitoleic acid is associated with cerebral glucose metabolism in healthy middle-aged individuals: results from the Progression of Early Subclinical Atherosclerosis prospective cohort study

Valentin Fuster · Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai · US

Static size-effects meet the dynamic scattering properties of finite-sized mechanical metamaterials: A relaxed micromorphic study with parameter identification via two-stage static–dynamic optimization

Angela Madeo

Gut microbiome metabolites meet immunometabolism in inflammatory bowel disease

Harry Sokol · Inserm · FR

A developmental map of pathogen-avoidance behaviors

Joshua M. Tybur

Despite the significant costs of early-life infections, young children show little behavioral avoidance of pathogens. This phenomenon raises still-unanswered questions about when anti-pathogen psychology develops. The present cross-sectional study examined parent-reported observations of 39 behaviors from infancy through middle childhood, based on reports from 3050 parents from the UK and US. Across fine-grained monthly age intervals (0–120 months), distinct developmental trajectories were ident

Increased grain weight conferred by GW2 mutations in wheat does not translate into yield gains in multi-year field trials of near-isogenic lines

James Simmonds · John Innes Centre · GB

Multiple studies have identified genes affecting grain morphology, yet their capacity to deliver yield gains under field conditions remains unclear. We performed a multiyear, multilocation factorial evaluation of GRAIN WIDTH2 (TaGW2) mutants in hexaploid wheat using BC4 near-isogenic lines, sowing-density treatments and semi-dwarfing RHT1 backgrounds. Loss-of-function mutations in TaGW2 increased grain size and thousand grain weight (TGW) additively; with the aaBBDD single mutant showing the mos

Modern and traditional age constraints for the palaeovegetation trends of the Early Triassic climate events at high southern latitudes

Chris Mays · Natural History Museum Vienna · AT

Biodiversity and biogeography of the multi-kingdom cancer microbiome

Anders B. Dohlman · Dana-Farber Cancer Institute · US

Ultrafast charge transfer dynamics at the MoS 2 / Au interface observed via optical spectroscopy under ambient conditions

Yujin Tong · University of Duisburg-Essen · DE

Integrating atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) with metallic surfaces is an effective strategy to leverage their exceptional properties in advanced devices and catalysts, as it promotes efficient charge carrier injection and extraction from TMDC monolayers. Light-matter interactions in TMDC monolayers predominantly occur at the K point, making the charge carrier dynamics at this point essential for optimizing charge transfer efficiency. However, direct probing of the dynami

Preserving Proton Resolution Under Cryogenic Dynamic Nuclear Polarization for Biomolecular Solid‐State NMR

Antoine Loquet · Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · FR

ABSTRACT The combination of proton detection with cryogenic dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) promises to unite the intrinsic sensitivity and resolution of 1 H‐detected magic‐angle spinning (MAS) NMR with the large signal enhancements afforded by hyperpolarization, but has long been considered impractical because of cryogenic line broadening and the limited spinning frequencies available under DNP conditions. Here, we demonstrate that high‐resolution proton‐detected spectra of proteins can inde

Bile salts govern protein bioaccessibility and nanostructural assembly during digestion of Nori seaweed

Marta Martínez‐Sanz · Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de la Alimentación · ES

PAK4: A vanguard of epithelial vertex remodeling

Jakub Sedzinski · Novo Nordisk Foundation · DK

How epithelial tissues remodel while preserving their barrier remains a fundamental question in epithelial biology. In this issue, Adhikary et al. (https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.202510024) identify PAK4 as a dynamic regulator of vertex remodeling that fine-tunes actomyosin contractility to maintain tissue integrity.

Emotional processing biases in the longitudinal course of major depressive disorder

Katharina Hierl · Technische Universität Dresden · DE

Negative biases in emotional processing are central to cognitive models of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), yet it remains unclear whether negatively biased valence attribution covaries with depressive symptoms or represents a more stable vulnerability. In this longitudinal study, we examined emotional valence ratings during a subliminal affective priming task in n = 232 MDD patients and n = 496 healthy controls (HC's) across multiple follow-up assessments, yielding 1395 observations. Multilevel

Tectonic collapse and the geological masking of Paleolithic human occupations at Gruta da Companheira (southern Portugal)

Alvise Barbieri · Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History · DE

Design of experiments-driven optimization of dual ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry for integrated fecal metabolomics and lipidomics

Lynn Vanhaecke · Queen's University Belfast · GB

Recently, feces has gained increased attention in metabolomics and lipidomics research due to its ability to reflect complex diet-host-microbiome interactions. Traditionally, these analyses rely on separate workflows, resulting in longer analysis times and increased instrument load. To address these limitations, we present a dual ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (dual UHPLC-HRMS) approach. As a first step, two previously validated single U

Bidirectional associations between parental need support, conflict with parents, and adolescents’ autonomy: A daily diary study

Susan Branje · Utrecht University · NL

Autonomy is a core developmental task of adolescence, shaped by daily parent-adolescent interactions involving need support and conflict. Guided by Self-Determination Theory, this study examined the bidirectional day-to-day associations between adolescents' perceived parental need support, conflict with parents, and autonomy. Using a daily diary design, this study employed a Dynamic Structural Equation Modeling on a sample of 286 Dutch adolescents (Mage = 11.60, SD = 0.47 at Wave 1), who were fo

Herbivory-triggered assemblage of sunflower rhizosphere microbiome enhances herbivore tolerance through plant–soil feedback

P. M. Rodríguez-Blanco · Universidad de Salamanca · ES

Abstract Rhizosphere microbial communities are key drivers of plant immunity and stress responses, and plants recruit beneficial microorganisms under stress. Herbivorous insects pose a major agricultural challenge, yet how leaf herbivory influences root-associated microbiomes and whether these changes generate plant–soil feedbacks that alter plant defense phenotypes remain poorly understood. With a two-phase greenhouse bioassay, we investigated how leaf herbivory with Spodoptera exigua affects s

Advances in magnetic-based thermometry and temperature mapping

Nuno J. O. Silva · University of Aveiro · PT

Temperature monitoring plays a critical role in a variety of therapeutic applications, including thermal therapies. Magnetic-based thermometry has emerged as a versatile and promising approach for localized, wireless temperature monitoring and mapping. This review provides an overview of the latest advances in magnetic temperature sensing techniques, with a focus on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI). Established MRI thermometry techniques based on the variation

An introduction to String Newton-Cartan holography and integrability

Andrea Fontanella · Trinity College Dublin · IE

Abstract String Newton-Cartan holography is a new example of gauge/gravity duality relating non-relativistic string theory and gauge theories. We review how to construct a family of string and p-brane Newton-Cartan holographic dualities by consistently taking the non-relativistic limit of the AdS/CFT correspondence. We also review classical string solutions, quantisation, string coset action and integrability of the non-relativistic string theory appearing in the String Newton-Cartan limit of th

FUS controls muscle differentiation through phase separation-mediated recruitment of the transcription factors MEF2 and ETV5

Chantal Sellier · Inserm · FR

FUS is an RNA-binding protein mutated in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive muscle weakness. We show in this work that a heterozygous knock-in mutation in the mouse Fus gene leads to cell-autonomous ultrastructural defects in skeletal muscle, with disruption of sarcomeres and mitochondria. Studies in mouse and Drosophila models demonstrate an evolutionarily conserved cell-autonomous function of FUS in muscle development. Mechanistically,

Optimizing Plasmodium vivax gametocyte enrichment to enhance transmission to Anopheles mosquitoes

Wouter Graumans · Radboud University Nijmegen · NL

<ns5:p> Background <ns5:italic>Plasmodium vivax</ns5:italic> is the second leading cause of malaria worldwide. The lack of continuous <ns5:italic>in vitro</ns5:italic> culture of <ns5:italic>P. vivax</ns5:italic> hampers research efforts, including research on transmission to mosquitoes and sporozoite biology <ns5:italic>.</ns5:italic> Here, we present methodological improvements to achieve high mosquito infection rates. Methods We compared two gametocyte enrichment methods: magnetic cell sortin

The blind spot in research on nature's benefits: Restorative versus instorative effects and potential biases

Simone Kühn

Environmental psychology has extensively documented the restorative effects of nature: the recovery of cognitive resources and emotional well-being following stress or fatigue. Yet, the field may have overlooked instorative effects, where nature enhances functioning from a neutral baseline without prior depletion. We reviewed 54 studies (61 experiments) investigating nature versus urban exposure effects on cognition, affect, and perceived restoration. Studies were categorized as explicit stresso

Chronic health conditions and health-related economic inactivity in midlife: Evidence from the 1958 and 1970 British birth cohorts

Laura Gimeno · London International Development Centre · GB

ABSTRACT Background Health-related economic inactivity is a growing concern in the United Kingdom but little is known about how the relationship between health and work participation has changed across cohorts. Methods We used data from two British birth cohorts born in 1958 (National Child Development Study, n = 9,761) and 1970 (British Cohort Study, n = 7,336). We examined how self-reported chronic health conditions at age 42 (longstanding illness, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, back

An empirical socio-economic indicator of country-level food security

Alessandro Tavoni · University of Bologna · IT

Abstract Economic access is a 10 central dimension of food security, yet cross-country empirical work has limited panel-compatible measures that link the purchasing power of low-income populations to food expenditure. We introduce the Socio-Economic Index of Food Security (SEF), defined as the ratio between the per capita income of the bottom 20 percent of the income distribution and average per capita food expenditure. Using data from 110 countries, we examine the ability of SEF to explain cros

Dendritic cells control tertiary lymphoid structure development and maintenance in cancer

Miriam Mérad · Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai · US

Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) are associated with immunotherapy response, yet the mechanisms controlling their formation and maintenance remain unclear. Using spatial transcriptomics and multiplex imaging across human tumors, we found that CCR7 + mature dendritic cells (DCs) accumulate in TLSs. In a mouse non–small cell lung cancer model that forms mature TLSs, we show that early TLS development requires interferon-γ (IFN-γ)–driven type 1 conventional dendritic cell (cDC1) maturation, migr

Polyelectrolyte adsorption at the solid–liquid interface favors receding contact line instability

Hans‐Jürgen Butt · Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research · DE

Controlling the motion of non-Newtonian drops on surfaces is crucial for applications ranging from inkjet printing to biomedical devices and food processing. While the macroscopic behavior of viscoelastic drops sliding on tilted hydrophobic surfaces has been characterized—showing reduced velocities and elongation compared to Newtonian fluids—the underlying microscopic mechanisms remain poorly understood. To address this gap, we developed a high-speed, high-resolution reflection microscope that e

Mechanical constraints regulate embryonic stem cell mitosis in the developing brain

Véronique Marthiens · Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · FR

Research on mitosis has predominantly examined cell-autonomous mechanisms, yet its regulation and consequences within the broader physiological context remain largely unexplored. It remains, therefore, unknown whether and how spindle assembly and chromosome segregation are influenced by tissue properties. We have investigated this question in the mammalian embryonic brain, using high-resolution microscopy combined with pharmacological perturbations and minimal cell systems to break down the cont

Unlocking the potential of high-dimensional quantum communication with scalable photonic entanglement in time and frequency

Chee Wei Wong · University of California, Los Angeles · US

High-dimensional photonic entanglement holds substantial promise for advancing quantum communication, computation, and metrology. For example, large-alphabet quantum communication protocols are known to benefit from enhanced noise resilience and information capacity via multibit time-bin encoding. Yet, characterizing high-dimensional entangled states is challenging, as full-state tomography becomes prohibitively costly and often requires unrealizable measurements. Here, we demonstrate a scan-fre

A 3’UTR-derived small RNA modulates the life cycle of the cholera toxin–encoding filamentous phage, CTXϕ

Kai Papenfort · Friedrich Schiller University Jena · DE

ABSTRACT Bacteriophages (phages) are well known to be one of the major driving forces in bacterial evolution. This also applies to virulent microorganisms, such as the major human pathogen Vibrio cholerae , whose pathogenic potential and epidemic proliferation largely depends on the interaction with environmental phages. Specifically, integration of the CTXϕ phage genome into the first chromosome of V. cholerae also introduced the ctxAB genes, encoding the primary toxin responsible for the sever

Cell cycle checkpoint activity in the malaria parasite <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i>

Catherine J. Merrick · University of Cambridge · GB

ABSTRACT Plasmodium spp. have different modes of cell division from most eukaryotes. Little is known about how these are controlled, and cell cycle checkpoints are particularly poorly characterized. However, parasites can arrest their cell cycle when treated with the frontline antimalarial drug artemisinin, and artemisinin-resistant parasites can modulate their cell cycle progression, so it is important to understand these aspects of Plasmodium biology. Here, we show that P. falciparum displays

Inverse problems for semilinear elliptic PDE with a general nonlinearity a(x,u)

Janne Nurminen · Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology · FI

Abstract This article studies the inverse problem of recovering a nonlinearity in an elliptic equation from boundary measurements of solutions. Previous results based on first‐order linearization achieve this under a sign condition on , and results based on higher order linearization recover the Taylor series of with respect to . We improve these results and show that a general nonlinearity, and not just its Taylor series, is uniquely determined up to gauge near a fixed solution. Our method is b

Wildly oscillating stars. Unexplained dense ridge-like frequency agglomerations in A- and F-type pulsators

P. Mani

We investigate the origin of the dense, ridge-like frequency clusters observed in a subset of A- and F-type pulsating stars, which we refer to as `wildly oscillating' stars (WOSs). These agglomerated frequency regions occupy a confined part of the frequency spectrum, typically below the fundamental radial mode, and they cannot be explained on the basis of classical pulsation theory. We analysed high-precision space photometry from and TESS, constructed échelle diagrams, and performed systematic

Ce(III)-MOFs with 1D chain architectures and their derivatives as earth-abundant electrocatalysts for the acidic oxygen evolution reaction

Wolfgang Schmitt · University College Dublin · IE

Cerium(III)-based metal-organic frameworks (Ce-MOFs) with one-dimensional chain secondary building units were synthesised and evaluated as oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts in acid. The MOFs act as pre-catalysts, transforming in-situ into active cerium oxide species. The best pristine MOF material that employs 1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triyl)tris(thiophene-2-carboxylate linkers (H3TTT), shows higher intrinsic activity and stability than commercial CeO2. The results highlight the role o

Genome‐wide association study in 21,271 individuals identifies 9 novel loci associated with circulating CD34 ⁺ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell levels

Björn Nilsson · Broad Institute · US

Unlocking the potential of high-dimensional quantum communication with scalable photonic entanglement in time and frequency

Chee Wei Wong · University of California, Los Angeles · US

High-dimensional photonic entanglement holds substantial promise for advancing quantum communication, computation, and metrology. For example, large-alphabet quantum communication protocols are known to benefit from enhanced noise resilience and information capacity via multibit time-bin encoding. Yet, characterizing high-dimensional entangled states is challenging, as full-state tomography becomes prohibitively costly and often requires unrealizable measurements. Here, we demonstrate a scan-fre

Developmental Timing of Educational Opportunities for Children in Low-Income Households

Eric Dearing · Boston College · US

Extending findings from a 26-year longitudinal study of educational opportunity, we examine whether opportunities are related to the educational attainment and earnings of children from lower-income households ( n = 226) as a function of when in a child’s development they occur. We compare the predictive power of opportunities accrued within three key developmental stages—early childhood, middle childhood, or adolescence—with the combined power of opportunities accrued across these stages. Our f

Scaffold Hopping of Isoxazole Enabled by an Oxidative Rh-Catalyzed Single-Carbon Insertion

Marcos G. Suero · Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats · ES

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Scaffold hopping is a key strategy in medicinal chemistry for lead optimization, but its application is often constrained by the need to synthesize each analogue from scratch. Single-atom skeletal editing offers an attractive alternative, yet methods for isoxazole scaffolds−especially in complex, medicinally relevant contexts−remain limited. Here, we present a scaffold hopping approach for isoxazoles based on an oxidative Rh-catalyzed single-car

Cellular assembly and functional resilience of the mammalian RNA exosome

Stefan L. Ameres · Institute of Molecular Biotechnology · AT

Most eukaryotic proteins assemble into multisubunit complexes that coordinate essential cellular functions, yet the principles governing their assembly and proteostatic control remain largely undefined. Here, we systematically dissect the cellular assembly and functional organization of the RNA exosome, an essential ribonucleolytic complex, using an inducible dual-guide CRISPR/Cas9 system in mouse embryonic stem cells. We reveal a sequential assembly pathway where Exosc2, Exosc4, and Exosc7 init

OMA1 protects from liver injury and tumorigenesis during aging by controlling hepatic immunogenicity

José Antonio Enrı́quez · Spanish National Centre for Cardiovascular Research · ES

Abstract Hepatic inflammation and immunosurveillance play major roles in the progression of liver cancer. A common trigger for hepatic inflammation is oxidative stress, which stems from mitochondrial dysfunction. Here, we demonstrate that deletion of the mitochondrial stress integrator OMA1 increases hepatic primary tumor incidence and impairs survival in mice. Persistent activation of the KEAP1-Nrf2 oxidative stress pathway in the absence of OMA1 promotes early liver injury, which progresses in

Statins promote muscle metabolic danger and NLRP3-mediated myopathy via lower protein-prenylation and YAP

Nazli Robin · McMaster University · CA

Statin intolerance and side effects such as low-level myopathy limit statin use and the dose for optimal cholesterol lowering. We found that priming the NLRP3 inflammasome with bacterial components like lipopolysaccharide lowered the dose of statins that caused side effects in muscle cells. We then built models of low-level statin myopathy and found that muscle cell–autonomous statin-induced myopathy occurs through the NLRP3 inflammasome in vitro and in mice. Statin-induced muscle cell death and

Thermal-state-dependent control of body temperature and feeding by two intra-hypothalamic pathways

Jan Siemens · European Molecular Biology Organization · DE

The intricate interplay between energy metabolism and body temperature regulation underscores the necessity of finely tuned mechanisms to maintain thermo-energetic homeostasis. Hot environments are known to suppress food intake and to reduce energy expenditure. However, the interplay between thermoregulatory and caloric-regulatory hypothalamic areas remains largely unexplored. In this study, we unveil two pathways originating from a subpopulation of genetically defined leptin receptor-expressing

Synthetic amino acids for programming adaptive response in pyrazolate peptide frameworks

Natalia M. Padial · Universitat de València · ES

Spatiotemporal coordination of Slit-Robo repulsion and neurturin-Gfrα attraction guides multipolar migration during retinal lamination

Jaakko Lehtimäki · Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência · PT

Multipolar migration is a conserved neuronal migration mode in the developing brain, enabling emerging neurons to navigate in crowded environments and reach precise laminar positions. Yet, how these cells interpret external cues to guide their migration is not fully understood. We investigate this question using retinal horizontal cells as a model. Combining transcriptomics, targeted CRISPR screening, and live imaging, we reveal the spatiotemporal guidance system underlying horizontal cell lamin

Adult neurogenesis: New neurons, new opportunities

Gerd Kempermann · German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases · DE

The 38 currently registered clinical trials with the keyword "adult neurogenesis" indicate growing interest in new neurons as a target for intervention. Today, we have strong evidence that adult neurogenesis is involved in hippocampal function and can contribute to brain functions in health and disease. Neurogenesis research can now ask new questions, such as (1) the identity of stem cells and their input integration for initiating neurogenesis, (2) the nature of the neurogenic niche and neuroge

Strong exciton coupling: a practical toolbox for computing interaction energies, wavefunctions, and optical spectra

Karl Börjesson · University of Gothenburg · SE

The perceived colour and photophysical properties of organic dyes depend not only on their chemical structure, but also how they pack together. When two dyes approach one another, the transition dipole moments associated with their molecular states begin to interact. If this interaction is sufficiently strong, it can lead to hybridization of the excited states, forming new hybrid states with altered photophysical properties. This phenomenon, formally denoted strong exciton coupling, is commonly

Two temperature-dependent membrane fluidity regimes in gram-positive bacteria

Rut Carballido‐López · AgroParisTech · FR

ABSTRACT Temperature changes directly affect the mobility of molecules within a biological membrane, increasing or decreasing its fluidity. Plasma membrane fluidity is a fundamental physical property that governs bacterial cell physiology, influencing processes such as protein function, respiration, and antibiotic uptake. It is widely accepted that bacteria actively maintain a constant membrane fluidity in response to temperature fluctuations to preserve membrane function. This process, known as

Correction: Reis et al. Bioinks Enriched with ECM Components Obtained by Supercritical Extraction. Biomolecules 2022, 12, 394

Alexandra P. Marques · University of Minho · PT

In the original publication [...]

Anthropic Activity Markers 2.0: A Shift Towards Compositional Data Analysis

Abel Ruiz-Giralt · Universitat Pompeu Fabra · ES

Abstract Anthropic Activity Markers (AAMs) were formalized over 10 years ago as a toolkit to infer human activities from biological and geochemical signatures preserved in sediments. This paper presents AAMs 2.0, a revised analytical framework that integrates compositional data analysis (CoDA) and geostatistics, as the appropriate statistical foundations for this approach. We first outline the theoretical motivation of this framework, demonstrating that treating geochemical concentrations as abs

SuperDP: Differential Privacy Refutation via Supermartingales

Krishnendu Chatterjee · Institute of Science and Technology Austria · AT

Differential privacy (DP) has established itself as one of the standards for ensuring privacy of individual data. However, reasoning about DP is a challenging and error-prone task, hence methods for formal verification and refutation of DP properties have received significant interest in recent years. In this work, we present a novel method for automated formal refutation of є-DP. Our method refutes є-DP by searching for a pair of inputs together with a non-negative function over outputs whose e

Benchmarking the urinary transplant metabolome of kidney transplant recipients using healthy organ donors

Naser B.N. Shehab · Brigham and Women's Hospital · US

Background Kidney transplantation is the only curative treatment for end-stage kidney disease, providing markedly improved outcomes over dialysis. In search of optimized long-term outcomes, recent studies have demonstrated alterations in the metabolic state of kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) may contribute to chronic graft outcomes. Here, we sought to benchmark metabolic perturbations associated with the post-transplant state using a set of extensively characterized kidney transplant donors

Parsing the functions of immediate-early proteins in the lytic–latent balance of HCMV infection

Noam Stern-Ginossar · Weizmann Institute of Science · IL

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) establishes lifelong latency, during which immediate-early (IE) gene expression is strongly repressed. IE1 and IE2 are considered master regulators of the lytic cycle, yet it remains unclear whether their expression levels are sufficient to determine infection outcome, defined here as the balance between lytic and latent infection, and which viral or cellular processes underpin this control. Here, we show that when viral entry is enhanced in monocytes, overexpression

Stabilizing in-transition phases of superlattices through shape control of silver nanocrystals

Sharon C. Glotzer · University of Michigan · US

In nanoscale assemblies, observations of structures in the transition pathways between high-symmetry lattices are rare because of the inherent instability of the intermediate phases. We report that silver nanocrystals with shapes similar to truncated octahedra (mecons) self-assemble into superlattices that are stable and resemble a previously unobserved phase that bridges face-centered and body-centered cubic structures along the Nishiyama-Wassermann martensitic pathway. These superlattices exhi

The correlation energy of the electron gas in the mean-field regime

Martin Ravn Christiansen

We prove a rigorous lower bound on the correlation energy of interacting fermions in the mean-field regime for a wide class of singular interactions, including the Coulomb potential. Combined with the upper bound obtained in \cite{ChrHaiNam-23b}, our result establishes an analogue of the Gell-Mann--Brueckner formula $c_{1}ρ\log\left(ρ\right)+c_{2}ρ$ for the correlation energy of the electron gas in the high-density limit. Moreover, our analysis allows us to go beyond mean-field scaling while sti

Synthesis and Characterization of Monomeric, Dimeric, and Polymeric Rare-Earth Bis(trimethyl)silylphosphide Complexes

Eric J. L. McInnes

Rare-earth (RE) bis(trimethylsilyl)amide ({N(SiMe3)2}−, N″) chemistry is well-developed, whereas RE bis(trimethylsilyl)phosphide {P(SiMe3)2}− (P″) chemistry is immature. Here, we report a convenient protonolysis route to dimeric RE P″ complexes [RE(P″)2(μ-P″)]2 (1-RE; RE = Y, Gd, Dy, Er) from parent [RE(CH2C6H4-o-NMe2)3] and excess HP″. The reactions of 1-RE with THF gave the monomeric RE P″ complexes [RE(P″)3(THF)2] (2-RE; RE = Y, Gd, Dy, Er), and treatment of 1-RE with 2 eq. of KP″ gave the RE

Robustness of pairwise kinematic Sunyaev--Zel'dovich effect to optical-cluster-selection bias

Y.-H. Hsu

The pairwise kinematic Sunyaev--Zel'dovich,(kSZ) effect measures both the pairwise motion between galaxy groups and clusters and the amount of gas within them, providing a tracer for cosmic growth. To interpret the cosmological information in the kSZ measurements, it is crucial to understand the optical-cluster-selection bias on the kSZ observables. Line-of-sight structures that contribute to both the optical observable (e.g., richness) and the cosmological signal can induce a correlation betwee

Stability of large cuts in random graphs

Ilay Hoshen

We prove that the family of largest cuts in the binomial random graph exhibits the following stability property: If $1/n \ll p = 1-Ω(1)$, then, with high probability, there is a set of $n - o(n)$ vertices that is partitioned in the same manner by all maximum cuts of $G_{n,p}$. Moreover, the analogous statement remains true when one replaces maximum cuts with nearly-maximum cuts. We then demonstrate how one can use this statement as a tool for showing that certain properties of $G_{n,p}$ that hol

Cryogenic Infrared Spectroscopy Unmasks Gas‐Phase Charge Migration in Mucin‐Type <i>O</i> ‐Glycans

Marc Safferthal · Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society · DE

ABSTRACT O ‐glycosylation is an essential post‐translational modification, controlling biological processes like innate immunity, lubrication, and cell communication. Due to the inherent structural complexity of O ‐glycans, assigning exact structures by mass spectrometry is highly challenging. Detailed structural assignment involves laborious processing and data interpretation but often remains incomplete due to the absence of diagnostic fragments. In this work, we introduce cryogenic gas‐phase

Association between the gut microbiota and estimated glomerular filtration rate in two Swedish population-based cohorts

Lin Yi-Ting · Kaohsiung Medical University · TW

INTRODUCTION: Evidence for gut-kidney interactions in early kidney disease is limited, particularly in community-dwelling adults with largely preserved kidney function. Here, we quantified links between gut microbiota and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in two population-based Swedish cohorts. METHODS: Deep shotgun metagenomics profiled fecal samples from 9788 adults in the Swedish CArdioPulmonary BioImage Study (SCAPIS) discovery cohort (mean age 58 ± 4 years; 52% women) and 2080 ad

Community Turnover and Connectivity at Two Study Sites in the North and Wadden Seas: Dynamics From Hours to Seasons

Pierre Ramond · Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research · NL

Microbial communities underpin ecosystem processes and biogeochemical cycles in marine ecosystems, yet their spatial and temporal dynamics at hourly scales remain poorly understood. We surveyed two stations from the North Sea (NS) and Wadden Sea (WS), generating six high-frequency time-series datasets across depths and seasons, complemented by sediment cores. Across seasons, the sites in the NS and the WS harbored distinct microbial communities shaped by contrasts in salinity, temperature, and p

Decoupled Climatic Drivers of Tree and Ground‐Layer Carbon Uptake in Mountain Ecosystems Around the World

Max Mallen‐Cooper · Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences · SE

One of the key ecological processes affected by climate change is plant carbon uptake. However, there is substantial uncertainty about how plant carbon uptake will respond to warming in mountain ecosystems, which are known for sharp temperature gradients and abrupt shifts in vegetation structure. Specifically, we lack an understanding of whether these response trajectories over time will be linear or non-linear, and how they might vary among mountain ecosystems globally. Here, we measured ecosys

The association between employment and family histories and caregiving in later life. European findings based on SHARE and ELSA

Christian Deindl · TU Dortmund University · DE

Caregiving can be time-consuming, and it can be challenging for caregivers to combine caregiving tasks with other obligations. While we know a lot about the problems of combining informal care with employment and family obligations, past employment and family histories are seldom discussed. This study tries to fill this gap by examining the association between employment and family histories and caregiving in later life. We used pooled data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Eur

ENGINEERING MULTIVALENCY FOR SUPERSELECTIVE RECOGNITION OF PATHOGEN TARGETS

TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET MUENCHEN · DE · €1,996,846

The recent pandemic has emphasised the need to rapidly develop materials that can detect, inhibit and destroy viruses and other pathogens. Antibodies achieve selective recognition of biological targets at ultralow concentrations via multivalent interactions, i.e. the cooperative binding of multiple sites to cognate receptors. While antibody deployment is ubiquitous in diagnostics and therapy, their animal-based manufacturing is costly, time-consuming, lacks universal applicability and raises eth

DYE-a-LOG: A Global Reinterpretation of Synthetic Dye History in Non-European Textiles

BRITISH MUSEUM · UK · €2,877,282

DYE-a-LOG bridges the gap between the chemistry of synthetic dyes and the economic, social and cultural implications of their introduction in non-European textile-making practices, offering a new ground-breaking understanding of the complex dynamics underpinning this global phenomenon. It shifts from dominant Eurocentric perspectives that frame the development and spread of synthetic dyes as positive industrial progress to outward-looking narratives that restore agency to the various local and g

New structures in primes and Diophantine approximation

THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD · UK · €1,995,717

Prime numbers have fascinated mathematicians for centuries, and have given rise to some of the oldest and most notorious open problems. Despite their central status, many fundamental aspects of the primes remain beyond the reach of current techniques. This project aims to make progress on central questions related to the distribution of primes. The goal is to develop new versatile techniques that can provide inroads to the fundamental problems at the heart of the subject, building on recent bre

Manipravalam: Insight, Research, and Analysis

UNIVERSITY OF HAMBURG · DE · €1,999,888

Manipravalam (“pearl and coral”), a blend of Sanskrit and local languages, emerged as a predominant language in the Tamil region during the 2nd millennium. Its unique linguistic character facilitated its role as a bridge-language that transmitted religious knowledge and united multiple religious traditions, inter alia. This language played a crucial role in shaping South India’s linguistic, religious, and cultural landscape during the medieval period. Although primarily associated with medieval

Appetite and Obesity: leveraging the power of dog genetics for biomedical insight.

THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE · UK · €1,986,152

Epidemic obesity threatens global health and has been attributed to changes in diet and lifestyle. However, not everyone gains weight in an obesogenic environment. Heritable variation in appetite renders some individuals susceptible to weight gain, but which genes are responsible and why, and what overlap is there between appetite and obesity genes? I study pet dogs to identify genes and molecular mechanisms underlying obesity, with the overarching aim of reducing the impact of obesity on huma

Conspiracy Theorizing from South Asia. Formation, Mediatization, and Appropriation.

FREIE UNIVERSITAET BERLIN · DE · €1,999,375

While conspiracy theories (CT) are widely debated as a global phenomenon, case studies from the Global North have largely shaped their definitions. This project aims to expand the field by examining the formation, mediatization, and appropriation of conspiracy theories in South Asia to challenge the dominance of Europe and US-centric perspectives in three ways: (a) Empirically: Positioning South Asia—home to one-quarter of the world’s population—on the map of conspiracy theory studies, we will e

Eliminating Leishmaniasis: Novel Strategies to Prevent Leishmania Transmission and Control Sand Flies through Pharmacological Treatment

UPPSALA UNIVERSITET · SE · €1,999,740

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a neglected tropical disease caused by Leishmania parasites, forms a significant health challenge in the Indian subcontinent and Eastern Africa. Despite substantial progress towards elimination, critical challenges persist in the ‘last mile’ to achieve and maintain elimination. I propose the innovative 5-year TRANSPHORM project, where I will develop novel pharmacological strategies to prevent Leishmania transmission and control sand fly vectors. Patients with the ski

Gravitational Lensing of Waves

AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS · ES · €2,185,007

Gravitational lensing provides invaluable insight into astrophysics, cosmology, and fundamental physics. Now, a new frontier is open thanks to observational breakthroughs in gravitational waves (GWs) and fast radio bursts (FRBs). Like visible light, these signals are deflected and magnified by gravitational fields, but their phase coherence exposes wave-optics lensing phenomena: wavefront distortions that can help us identify very distant sources and characterize the intervening matter distribut

Cracking the Host Sugar Code: Insights into H5Nx Influenza A Virus Adaptation and Pathogenesis

UNIVERSITEIT UTRECHT · NL · €2,000,000

Sugar-Viro will create advanced glycoscience tools to address critical questions in H5Nx influenza A virus (IAV) biology, aiming to enhance surveillance, inform antiviral development, and contribute to the fight against IAV infections. To initiate infection, respiratory pathogens like IAV must interact with complex carbohydrate structures, or glycans, present on the respiratory epithelium. However, virus-glycan interactions remain poorly understood due to the diversity, biosynthetic complexity,

GENERATION EU (GenEU): The development of European identity and implications for social cohesion and peace

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, DUBLIN · IE · €2,000,000

Youth in Europe may be the first generation of native EU citizens in their country; their support for and identification with Europe are essential for peace on the continent. Identity formation is an essential development task across the lifespan; yet in middle childhood and early adolescence, there is low identity complexity. Therefore, it is essential to understand how children and adolescents develop and identify with superordinate categories (e.g. being European), and the impact of those ide

Global study of the macro- and individual-level causes and consequences of loneliness

THE PROVOST, FELLOWS, FOUNDATION SCHOLARS & THE OTHER MEMBERS OF BOARD, OF THE COLLEGE OF THE HOLY & UNDIVIDED TRINITY OF QUEEN ELIZABETH NEAR DUBLIN · IE · €1,990,901

Loneliness is a universal social phenomenon experienced across the life-course that has implications for the health and well-being of both individuals and societies. Distinct from simply ‘being alone’, loneliness refers to individuals’ assessment of the quantity and quality of their social relationships and this assessment is shaped by social and cultural norms and expectations. Despite the negative assessments that ferment loneliness being shaped by the contexts in which they are made, most res

Navigating Ethical Dilemmas of Migrant Solidarity

UNIVERSITAT FUR WEITERBILDUNG KREMS · AT · €2,000,000

Policymakers and civil society actors in the migration field are often confronted with ethical dilemmas. Yet, no systematic comparative study exists of how these actors respond to ethical dilemmas in real-life circumstances, and we lack a theory to explain their decisions and assess their impact on the actors’ political identity. Focusing on actors engaged in solidarity practices with irregular and precarious migrants, which raise particularly acute dilemmas, MIGSOL therefore asks: When faced wi

Parish Politics in Early Modern East Central Europe, 1650–1800: The Role of Popular Politics in Late Catholic Confessionalization and Early Modern State-Building

ELTE HUMAN TUDOMANYOK KUTATOKOZPONTJA · HU · €1,997,500

Why is our picture of the early modern East Central European popular politics often contradictory, fragmented, and difficult to generalise? The project addresses this question by exploring parish politics as a form of popular politics through which local communities participated in parish matters by creating a local public arena around Catholic parishes. The project examines how local communities influenced late Catholic confessionalization and early modern state building through parish politics

Functional evolution of the cell autonomous innate immunity in mammals

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS · FR · €2,528,637

Cell-autonomous innate immunity is the first line of defense against pathogens and is crucial in infections, viral cross-species transmissions and autoimmunity. In mammals, it is notably composed of proteins from the interferon pathway inhibiting viruses within infected cells. In turn, viruses evade or antagonize immunity, leading to virus-host evolutionary arms-races. Beyond classic adaptation by site-specific positive selection, we discovered cases of gene duplications with divergence in gene

Sensing Ecocide: Advancing Accountability for Environmental Atrocity Crimes

NORGES TEKNISK-NATURVITENSKAPELIGE UNIVERSITET NTNU · NO · €1,999,830

The entanglement of climate change, extractive projects, and conflict has expanded environmental violence to a planetary scale, complicating causal chains between victims, perpetrators, sources, and impacts. SEECODE aims to address these challenges through artistic research, deepening our understanding of the representational and causal complexities of environmental violence. By focusing on both existing international crimes and the emerging crime of ecocide, or crimes against the environment, S

Igusa Stacks and the Langlands program

IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE · UK · €1,999,760

The Langlands program, often called a ``grand unified theory of mathematics'', predicts reciprocity laws that relate very different kinds of mathematical objects: automorphic forms and Galois representations. Shimura varieties play a fundamental role in constructing and propagating instances of Langlands reciprocity. In the past decade, advances in p-adic geometry have revolutionised the study of Shimura varieties. This recently led to the introduction of certain p-adic analytic varieties calle